The Artwork of Brian Kliewer

A NASCAR approach to blogging

 

Over the years I've thought of different ways to get a targeted audience to my site.  Some things worked, some didn't. Blogging about other artists is one way to do it. 

 

But it's best not to write about really famous artists, unless you just want to write a review for the fun of it.  A better approach would be to write about an artist who isn't  widely known so that your blog can rank highly in searches on his/her name as well.  But an artist who isn't widely known?  YES! The benefit is that if there isn't a whole lot already on the web, your blog will place well in search engines for anything you write, too.

 

OK, so how would this benefit you if he's 'unknown'? It depends on your resourcefulness.  If I were to write about Jo Blow down the street, what good would that do me?  Probably not much.  So why the NASCAR reference?

 

NASCAR 'drafting' illustrated

 

 

 

Watch the video - it's 1 minute long and makes a useful point

 

So how does this help you or me?  Of course it's not the same as a race - I used the video as an illustration.  But in a way, the idea also fits blogging....you can follow the same sort of  principles on the web. If you find an artist that's being heavily promoted by a gallery, he's 'in the lead' and people are watching. 

 

Like his work?  Write about it.  Has he been having good success?  Write about that, too.  Just be original and genuine.  If he has a website, he might even allow you to use an image if you link back.  Think of getting behind that 'lead car' in a race like in the video. If you work in a similar style, you have a win-win situation. 

 

Start your engines!

 

A twist on this would be to look up artists online who are getting recognition, but are still relatively 'unknown.'  Where can you do that?  One resource could be Southwest Art Magazine's 21 Under 31.  I know the site says the 2012 competition isn't being held this year, but the article will still be published, and apparently future ones will be as well.

 

Know any other art magazines/organizations that do this sort of thing?  If so, you have more resources.  The benefit is obvious, or should be.  Here you have an art magazine NAMING artists for collectors to watch.  If only a few articles exist on the web per artist, where are these collectors going to go when they do a web search?   

 

This is a good blogging approach but it should be used judiciously.  Your blog should still be about YOUR work.

Some Ideas on Better Blogging

 

I'm working on making this blog better.  As you can see on the front (Main) page, I now have a "header" photo that, at least to me, better represents it. 

 

I've had a few snafus.  In trying to be "human," I've posted a few things that were meant to be funny but came off sounding more ill-tempered.  I apologize for that.  But I won't apologize for my opinions.  I do have them and I don't want a "staid" blog that offers none.  But I'll try not to over do it in that area...and you will see more humor.  I intend to be ME here and no one else.

 

Optimizing for Speed

 

I'm also trying different things like optimizing it for speed.  Have you ever been on a blog that was just endless?  I have.  I can't read them.  It's just a waste of time.  Even on a high speed connection...that doesn't matter if no consideration is given to the reader.  Posts that go on forever do nothing for me (and, yes, I have written a few myself).  With that in mind, this is also why I only allow 5 posts to load while all the others get archived as "Older Posts."   I think 5 posts visible at once are enough...10 max.  I've been on many blogs that seem to not limit posts in any way at all.  Look at this blog now from the main page and you'll see 5 posts.  Click on the "Older Posts" link at the bottom of the page and you will still see 5.  Only if you click on a subject to the left will you see more, depending on how many posts have been tagged on that particular subject.

 

I'm also resizing  my images for faster loading.  This blog template will allow a maximum pixel height/width of 550.  I was posting pictures 600 pixels wide.   I can go larger if I want, but if I do, it will mess up the download speed.  Since I've started resizing and compressing accordingly, I'm seeing better speed test results.

 

 

This image was originally over 2000 pixels wide and 1.5 megabytes in file size.  Here it's 550 pixels wide and I've compressed the file size to about 25 kilobytes.  How does it look to you?  I can see some of the effect of compression but it's minor.  It is a compromise, though.  With my painting images, I want to be as close as possible but without the file size.  I should be able to get what I want by resizing to a 550 pixel limit (longest length, height/width) and saving at 72 dpi. I haven't done this with the rest of my site yet.  I'm focusing on the blog for now. I want it to be the fastest loading it can be, while maintaining good image quality. 

 

Here's a good article on Empty Easel about optimizing images for the web.  I'm not doing all that's mentioned myself, but I'm doing what I can. 

 

Making it Scannable

 

Though I haven't done this  much before, I'm going to try things like

• using bullets when appropriate.

1. Numbers will also work.

Indenting might also show up and in case you haven't noticed, Headlines are beginning to appear.  Yes, they're real "Headlines," not just bold text.  I'm using the h3 header.  This is because my template uses the h2 header for Post Titles (permalink URLs).  This gets into SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

 

H1, H2, H3

 

My blog title is "I Wish To Speak To You."    I might rename it for better SEO, haven't decided yet.  Since I am a painter, something with that in the title might be better suited.  Update:  As you can see, it's now called "Diary of a Maine-iac Painter."  This suits me much better because I am from Maine, born and raised. Regardless, the header (titles) are in H1 tags (Heading 1), my individual post titles (permalinks) are H2 tags (Heading 2),  and the subtitles are H3 tags (Heading 3).  See how it works?  Update:  These tags aren't really that important to me.  H1 and H2 are built into the template anyway, so I want an h3 heading coming off my h2 permalink titles.  It can help with SEO supposedly (with proper keyword placement, which I'm not going into here, etc.), but...regardless, I like the look of my subtitles better with actual h3 headline tags instead of just "bold" text as I use bold text to highhlight key points in my paragraphs.

 

Blogroll - Would You Like a Link?

 

Blogging isn't just about writing text.  It's also about presenting your words and images in the best way possible.  Yes, I want my images to look as good as possible.  But I used to be so caught up in that, I paid no attention to my readers.  Download speed meant nothing to me.  Well, I have learned.  But making a blog more useful to its readers also means giving them something in return for their time.  Many of my readers are fellow artists.  That being the case, I'm also working on a blogroll... 

 

Would you like a link?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I'll be posting an in-depth article on this very soon.

You can use Tracing Paper for more than just tracing...

 

Years ago I had a studio window that was "unruly."  Direct sunlight would come in through it and hit my easel.  I had to wait until later in the mornning before I could begin to paint.  Then I got thinking about how I might be able to control things without losing the light.  So I got a pad of tracing paper and taped sheets  of it up to the window.  Bingo!  Instant "north light."  The light remained soft and steady all day long. The window was small, so the sheets worked well enough.  You can buy it by the roll, if you prefer.

 

I do the same thing in my current studio when needed.  Not only does direct sunlight come in at certain times of the year, but my studio is located above a busy street and sidewalk with plenty of cars and foot traffic.  The tracing paper trick controls both the light and other distractions!

 

The downside?   In the summertime, it takes away what is for me a great girl watching spot.  :/ And of course, summertime is the best time for watching girls. 

 

By the way, I rarely "trace."  :)

LEAVE A COMMENT!

 

Okay, I'm being a little harsh I guess but here's proof showing why it works...

 

 

This is a view of one of my recent visitor logs.  Aline and Susan left comments on my blog.  See the little red arrows?  Know what they mean?  They mean that someone visited THEIR sites via the comments they left on my blog.  The arrows denote "outbound" traffic. 

 

Have a site?  Leave a comment.  Don't be tacky, though, and leave your website URL in the comment field.  Leave it in the website field along with the info blogs ask you to identify yourselves.  I've done it before.  It works.   I've even gained collectors this way. 

 

I often get feedback in my email from artists after I send a newsletter/update.  That doesn't really do them any good.  A blog comment can.

 

And as a "Thank you" to both Susan and Aline for their comments, here are links to their websites:

 

http://paintingsbyaline.com/Paintings_by_Aline/Welcome_to_Paintings_by_Aline.html

 

http://susangutting.com/

This is a follow-up to my earlier post, obviously.  It will be the last in this series but I wanted to illustrate how effective blogging can be and why I prefer it to social media, i.e., Twitter and Facebook, and online "artist registries," etc.  I might write more on the subject of blogging itself at a later date.  I know some have questioned whether it can really work or not.  I say it can and I'll use an experience I had several years ago to explain why I feel this way.

 

I recently visited the Fine Art America website.  Their tagline perfectly illustrates why I choose not to be there...